NH Teenage Tobacco Use Plunges

Tobacco merchants credited with keeping tobacco out of the hands of minors.

January 11, 2011

CONCORD - Tobacco sales to New Hampshire minors fell to their lowest level since the state began tracking rates in an annual survey, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.

According to New Hampshire health officials, statewide sales to young people dropped to 8.6 percent last year, down from 14 percent in 2009.

"This is great news for New Hampshire children and their parents," said Joseph Harding, director of the state Health and Human Services?? Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services. "We know when kids use tobacco it harms their development and increases their risk of using alcohol and other drugs??These results show what can be accomplished by building partnerships that address issues affecting the health and safety of our youth and communities."

The decrease comes while schools have been offering smoking cessation classes to students, as well as integrating tobacco use education into health curricula

Epping, New Hampshire police Sgt. Jason Newman also credits tobacco retailers for keeping cigarettes out of the hands of minors.

"I believe merchants have done a great job in the past few years by reducing the amount of tobacco sales to juveniles," he said.

New Hampshire's Liquor Enforcement Division enforces the state's tobacco laws and licenses tobacco product retailers, working with them to ensure they are in compliance with state regulations.

"We also provide education for merchants to help them comply with the laws," said Enforcement Division Director Eddie Edwards. "The results of this year??s compliance checks are partially the results of the work our field agents do every day, and the work of our youth volunteers who help conduct the compliance checks."

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